Helsingør Court Bulding

The city court in Helsingør (Elsinore) is the transformation of an existing industrial property into an elegant and inviting city court. The desire has long been to have a building, which illustrates law and order, but is also user-friendly.

The building has been completely transformed, inside as well as outside, as the old facades have been remodeled. Today, the exterior is made of veneered wood with a zinc roof. From a distance, the façade looks even and smooth, but at closer inspection, you see that the uniform surface is really made of Masonite boards in different sizes. These pieces create a vibrant feeling and dynamic in the large building.

The building’s skeleton consists of a large roof truss construction without weight-bearing beams, and this enables all of the interior to be removed, thus providing for a large open space without disrupting beams. This large, open room is currently a market place where the individual courtrooms and lawyer’s offices are free-standing wooden boxes of birch. This floor plan is user-friendly for the court’s guests and the generous space is functionally utilized so there is currently an open, spacious environment which at the same time favors discretion.